Emory DPT’s new orthopedic residency program graduated its
first two students. Sara Knight, DPT ’11, and Rob Riesing, DPT ’11,
completed the residency on July 31st and will sit for their orthopedic
boards in March of 2013.

The establishment of the residency program follows a push for
more specialized training within the physical therapy profession.
“The profession in general has moved toward the doctoral level, and
in the future specialties will be more and more important to overall
career prospects,” says Knight. “There has been an exponential
increase in physical therapy residency programs as the profession moves toward being direct access practitioners.”

The year-long residency program consisted of 40 hours per
week of clinical practice, a monthly lecture course and monthly
grand rounds during which the students and faculty discussed research.
In addition, Knight and Riesing provided pro bono services
through the South Georgia Farmworkers project (see story below.),
shadowed a radiologist and were actively involved in teaching
orthopedic content to the second-year DPT students.

Knight plans to use her advanced orthopedic skills to practice
in a general outpatient clinical practice. She was drawn to the
residency as a chance to enhance her skill set. “I actually plan on
practicing in a more generalized setting, but having specialized
skills in orthopedics allows you to bring more treatment options to
the patient,” she said.

Riesing also saw the residency as a way to ensure he provides
the best care possible for his future patients. He was also eager to be
among the first participants. “I thought it was great that Sara and I
would be trailblazing this new program at Emory,” he said.

Kathleen Geist, PT, DPT, OCS, COMT, assistant professor and
head of the orthopedic residency program, hopes to grow the
program. “We would like to expand to four to seven residents in the
coming years,” says Geist. “We are trying to move the application
deadline for the 2013 residency to February 1. Specialized residencies
are definitely the direction of the future for physical therapy.”